New processor, graphics, and solid-state drives

The biggest MacBook Pro news is that Apple is now using Intel’s Kaby Lake processors. Kaby Lake is Intel’s seventh-generation processor, and it replaces the sixth-generation Skylake processors that were in the previous MacBook Pro.

Apple has also upgraded the MacBook Pro’s graphics hardware. The 13-inch models that have only an integrated graphics processor use either the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 or Graphics 650, replacing the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 540 or Graphics 550 in the previous models.

The 15-inch models upgraded its integrated graphics from an Intel HD Graphics 530 to an Intel HD Graphics 630. They also have heftier discrete graphics: either a 2GB Radeon Pro 555 or a 4GB Radeon Pro 560, which are an upgrade from the 2GB Radeon Pro 450 and 455 and the 4GBRadeon Pro 460 found in earlier models.

The solid-state-drives (SSDs) in the new MacBook Pro are faster as well—up to 50 percent over the SSD in the previous models, according to Apple.

Models and prices

Apple offers four standard configurations of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and two of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. All laptops are available in Space Gray or Silver. Here’s the rundown on each model. (Each model can be customized at an additional cost.)

Apple also sells an “affordable” 15-inch MacBook Pro, which is based on specifications from a model that sold in 2015 and is available only in silver. The heart of this laptop is a Haswell processor, which is a fourth-generation Intel processor. Here are its price and specifications:

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